On October 1, 2014, this Court found Defendant Jerome Madison guilty of eleven charges. Mr. Madison and his counsel, James A. Natalie, Jr., Esquire, have had a difficult relationship since prior to trial. Mr. Natalie's pre-trial and post-trial motions to withdraw as counsel were denied, as was Mr. Madison's mid-trial request to terminate Mr. Natalie's representation. Mr. Madison now brings yet another motion to dismiss his counsel. In addition, Mr. Madison seeks my recusal from the case and claims that my previous supervisory relationship with the Deputy Attorney General assigned to this case is grounds to vacate the judgment or for judgment of acquittal. Mr. Madison's most recent application is a Rule 47[1]motion to participate in his defense. Mr. Madison's Rule 47 request is GRANTED only to the limited extent that it permits the Court to address the removal of counsel and recusal issues that permeate his post-trial complaints. All of Mr. Madison's motions raising those claims are DENIED for the reasons set forth below.

II.Factual and Procedural Background

Mr. Madison was arrested on December 24, 2013, and later charged with: three counts of Rape in the First Degree, two counts of Kidnapping in the Second Degree, Home Invasion, Possession of a Deadly Weapon During the Commission of a Felony ("PDWDCF"), two counts of Assault in the Second Degree, and two counts of Terroristic Threatening. The Public Defender represented Mr. Madison at his January 10, 2014 preliminary hearing and February 18, 2014 arraignment.

Mr. Madison then retained Mr. Natalie to represent him, and Mr. Natalie entered his appearance on March 21, 2014. Mr. Natalie represented Mr. Madison at his March 24, 2014 and June 16, 2014 case reviews.

Mr. Madison's case was first assigned to a different judge on April 21, 2014.[2] And his trial was initially scheduled for June 24, 2014. At Mr. Madison's June 16, 2014 final case review, Mr. Natalie mentioned a potential mental illness defense and a suppression motion. Counsel was given a week to file any pre-trial motions.

On June 23, 2014, at Mr. Madison's insistence, Mr. Natalie requested a continuance and filed four motions: 1) a motion for reduction of bail; 2) a motion to suppress; 3) a motion for a full psychological examination; and 4) a motion to withdraw as counsel. [3] The motions were not docketed until June 24, just before trial was scheduled to start. The then-assigned judge denied all four motions in a June 27, 2014 order. That order briefly addressed the merits of Mr. Natalie's request to withdraw as counsel, noting that the judge appreciated that Mr. Natalie had "not been paid recently, " and that Mr. Madison had "become obstreperous" and ...

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